University of Idaho presidential finalist Elizabeth Spiller emphasized the importance of supporting communities as she spoke to the faculty, staff and students at Tuesday’s open forum.
Vice president for Research and Economic Development Janet Nelson introduced Spiller. Nelson gave a brief overview of Spiller’s achievements, including her two National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships. Nelson also addressed Spiller’s work as Dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California Davis.
“Spiller has provided leadership and invested in faculty recruitment, addressing a historical budget deficit and enhancing opportunities for student learning beyond the classroom,” Nelson said. “Those are all things here at Idaho that are near to our hearts, so we’re looking forward to hearing some of her comments.”
Spiller did not prepare any remarks, but she gave a brief explanation of her background and interests before opening the floor to questions. She explained what she believes land grant universities are responsible for and how University of Idaho and her own background fit into those responsibilities.
“The (problems) that our students in twenty years are going to face are even harder than the ones we have now,” Spiller said. “Being able to be integrated in defining community, defining educational access and defining the good research produced by a higher education research university seems to be what a land grant is supposed to do.”
Faculty, staff and students asked a wide range of questions over the hour-long open forum. Some asked about her intent in applying for the presidency and her proposed initiatives while others asked about her stance towards interdisciplinary research, inclusivity and enrollment. She shared her experience with improving enrollment at the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech.
“At the end of my three years there, we had increased applications by 59 percent and we had increased incoming freshmen by 39 percent,” Spiller said. “We did everything. We did every little thing. The most important thing in a conversation like that is to know who you are. You don’t just want to recruit students, you want to recruit your students.”
Elizabeth Spiller, dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California Davis, speaks to the UI community Tuesday.
Alex Brizee | Argonaut
Spiller brought the importance of community to the forefront of all her answers. She said UI is the perfect size for achieving true academic diversity while maintaining a sense of home and community. She also discussed her ties to the Greek community.
“Fraternities fit into the larger conversation of how you make a place feel like it is a place of belonging for students,” Spiller said. “There’s a number of mechanisms for doing that. Fraternities are a powerful and important one of those mechanisms. I rushed a fraternity — my college fraternities were co-ed — and my father founded a fraternity when he was an undergraduate at a land grant in a different state. (I remember) all the times that his friends would come from as far away as Micronesia to fraternity reunions. The degree to which that is of value as a lifelong experience of building community with people.”
Spiller was not available to answer questions after the forum but attended a variety of events throughout the day. In the morning, she spoke to students on campus. In the evening, she spoke in the Moscow City Hall to connect with the Moscow community.
The State Board of Education will name a new president by April, The Argonaut previously reported.